This document summarizes several East Asian dynasties between the 10th-15th centuries CE: 1) The Song Dynasty ruled China from 960-1279 CE and saw a period of economic growth fueled by trade and agricultural advances, though they struggled against northern rivals. 2) The Yuan Dynasty, led by Kublai Khan, conquered China in 1279 and established Mongol rule until 1368. They encouraged trade but faced opposition from Chinese scholars. 3) The Ming Dynasty then ruled China from 1368-1644 and restored Chinese rule, expanding the empire before economic troubles led to its fall. 4) In Korea, the Koryo Dynasty ruled from 935 CE, facing

1. Song, Yuan, and Ming
Dynasties of China; Koryo
Dynasty of Korea, and the
Heian and Kamakura Periods
of Japan

2. Song Dynasty of China
CE 960-1279

3. Founding of the Dynasty
● General Zhao Kuangyin (known as Taizu) was placed on the
throne by his army after the army ousted a child emperor
○ To prevent this from happening again, he retired and rotated his generals and
assigned civil officials to supervise them
● The capitals were established at Kaifeng and Hangzhou, instead of
Chang’an and Luoyang, because of the prosperity of these two Grand Canal cities
● Song Dynasty was beset by rivals
○ Liao Dynasty: Khitan empire that used horsemen to force the Song to pay tribute to them
■ Blend of Chinese and Khitan governance, with Chinese style bureaucracy ruled by Khitan-led
fiefdoms and nomadic tribes in the north. Established a capital in the south called Yanjing, which
would later be Beijing
○ Xia Dynasty: Buddhist Tangut nation, controlled the trade of horses to China

4. Song Economy
● By 1100 CE, China was the largest country in the world,
exceeding all of Europe at the time
● A large population lead to a robust economy
○ Farmers and peasants begin producing goods and food for
market and not sustenance
■ Cash crops like tea, sugar, oranges, flowers and
charcoal are produced, along with cottage industries
like weaving and dyeing,
○ Peasants with additional incomes are able to buy luxuries like
tea and wine
■ Peasants received this income through cottage
industries and from government-financed hired labor
○ Demand for goods opened up internal trade, creating jobs for
shipbuilders and sailors
○ Large transactions made copper coins unwieldy, leading to
paper currency backed by the government
○ Large transactions also made for higher risk, leading to risk
dispersal through partnerships and shareholders
○ Guilds were created and became the representatives of
craftsmen and merchants in a city

5. ● Paper, iron, and gunpowder are more widely used
● The economic center of China moved south
○ Rice, the dominant crop in the south, allowed for larger populations
and more densely populated cities
○ Drought resistant and early-ripening rice, along with improved
agricultural methods greatly increased yields
● Trade, overland to neighboring states and overseas to India,
Arabia, and even Africa began
○ Kilns mass produce ceramics
○ The height of the “Silk Road,” with China controlling most of these
trade routes militarily
■ Extended west of Persia (Iran), with goods coming from as far
away as Egypt

6. Civil Service
● Song improved on the Tang civil service exam
○ Officials were better educated, and exams were open to a
larger group
○ In theory, about 95% of Chinese men could take examinations
● Printing press made the Song Dynasty better educated than its predecessors
● Aristocratic model still existed, men whose fathers or grandfathers had a high rank in the
government were exempt from taking exams
○ However, these sons usually had the lowest ranks in the service and may not rise very high, making the exams
important even for these men
○ Furthermore, usually only landed families could afford to educate their sons
○ Sons traveled great distances to study with famous teachers, many served in distant parts of the empire
● Civil servants were often students of a wide range of disciplines
● Jinshi graduates were competitive, leading to factions and infighting

7. Foot-Binding
● A practice that began during the Song Dynasty, though not recommended by
Confucian teachers and associated with pleasure quarters and beauty standards
● Starting at the age of five, women would bind their daughter’s feet with cloth to
prevent them from growing and bend the four smaller toes under
● Practice gradually spread during the Song as an elite practice, then expanded to all
classes and parts of China in later dynasties

8. Fall of the Northern Song, Rise of the Jin
● A new tribal group rose in the northeast, called the Jurchens
○ Originally subordinate to the Liao, they raised excellent horses and under the leadership of Wanyan Aguda,
they challenged the Liao for authority, establishing the Jin Dynasty in 1115
● After the Song allied themselves with the Jin to eliminate the Liao, the Jin attacked the Song and
conquered Northern China and Manchuria, establishing their capital in Kaifeng
● Maintained the civil servants, though dissent was punished harshly
● At the same time, the Jin maintained their own language and customs, even beginning
Jurchen-language civil service exams

9. Southern Song
● Established their capital at Hangzhou
● Attempted to reestablish control over the north, but abandoned the idea
and paid tribute to the Jin after 1141.
○ The loss of the north was not a major loss the wealthy and populous south
● Women began to have more control over their lives, though the wealthiest
and the ideal was for women and girls to remain at home
○ Once married, women fell under the rule of the mother-in-law until she secured
her position with a son
○ Women usually had great influence in marriage partners and other household
issues
○ Women began to learn to read, and some would be their children's’ first teachers

10. Yuan Dynasty
CE 1279-1368

11. Chinggis: 1162-1227
● In 1206, Temujin unites the Mongols under his leadership and
adopted the name Chinggis Khan, or “Ruler between oceans”
● Successive raids into North China weakened the Jin Dynasty, in 1211
he invaded
○ Infighting in among the Jin and superior tactics by the Mongols lead to the
Mongols plundering most of North China
● As he conquered Jin territory, he incorporated Chinese into his army,
making use of their literacy and skill with weapons
● Fought and defeated the Xia, where Chinggis died during the siege of
their capital

12. Khubilai: 1215-1294
● Appointed a Chinese advisor, Liu Bingzhong and
came to realize that repeated plunderings of
North China impoverished and depleted the
region
● Took control of North China in 1251, and
established a Chinese style government
● Conquered the Dali region, and upon the death of
his uncle declared himself the Great Khan
○ A four-year war against his brother gave him the
title, established his capital at Beijing (called Dadu)
○ Adopted the name Yuan for the Mongol-led
dynasty
● Began fighting the southern Song dynasty in
1268
○ Song believed the Mongols were the greatest
threat to Chinese civilization in history, however,
northern Chinese worked with the Mongols
○ Song Dynasty fell in 1278
● Died in 1294, his successor emphasized China
over the steppes, his son continued this policy
and caused a rift between opposing Mongol
factions, the central government soon collapsed

13. Life under the Mongols
● Mongols believed in a class system: Famers, Scholars,
Physicians, Astrologers, Soldiers, Artisans, Monks, etc.
○ Unpaid service was assigned in a rotational schedule,
and occupations made their living during the rest of the
year
● Also assigned people to grades: Mongols, Non-Chinese
(Central Asians), subjects of the former Jin, subjects of the
former Song
○ Classifications offered preferential taxes, judicial
processes, and offices to higher ranks
○ Keep the Mongols as conquerors and the Chinese were
kept from rebelling
● Educated Chinese had fewer opportunities for
employment, as Mongols and Central Asians had
preferential treatment
○ Despite little work, they had heavy taxes
○ Those that did get jobs were often clerks, not
scholar-officials
○ Civil Service Exam was reinstituted in 1315, but quotas
were established to keep Mongols in power
○ Known as a Golden age for Chinese painting and
Theater
● Favored Buddhists over Confucians, but were tolerant of
all religions
● Mongols themselves tried to keep their own traditions,
rather than embrace Chinese traditions

14. Trade
● More than anything, the Mongols desired wealth from the Chinese
○ Encouraged internal and external trade
○ Improved transportation and the postal system
○ Improved the village organization in order to improve agriculture
○ Encouraged paper currency and Yuan currency
○ Set up bureaus to administer crafts
○ Encouraged the production of popular goods for export, like
porcelain
○ Set up ortogh or merchant associations to get loans from the
government
○ Reduced tariffs
○ Taxation was regulated and religions were exempt from
paying
○ Open to foreign goods, ideas and beliefs
● Cultural exchange between East and West opened up
○ Marco Polo visited Dadu between 1272 and 1295
● Despite the desire for wealth, North China remained
impoverish

15. Ming Dynasty
CE 1368-1644

16. Founding of the Ming
● Zhu Yuanzhang, born to an impoverished family, begged and
wandered as a young boy until he joined the Red Turban rebellion,
founded the Ming (meaning ‘bright”) Dynasty in 1386. Became
known as Hongwu after death and Ming Taizu during is life
○ Attempted to elevate his office to that of the deified emperors of the
Zhou Dynasty
○ Encouraged Confucian values
○ Reregistered land and population, rewrote the legal code five times
○ Continued to allow strong provincial governments and hereditary
service obligations for artisans and soldiers
○ Welcomed Mongols in the empire
○ Defended his northern border, fought wars in the southwest
○ Executed thousands of officials, often for small misdeeds

17. Yongle Emperor
● Also known as Chengzu, he usurped the throne
from his nephew Huidi
● Led wars in Vietnam and over the Mongols
● Also executed many scholars in a dispute over his
succession
● Order the Yongle Encyclopedia, a compendium of
knowledge over 50 million words long
● Order a compilation of Confucian texts for
students taking the civil service exam
● Moved the capital to Beijing, forcing a renovation of the Grand Canal
● Ordered major naval expeditions under Zheng He

18. Life at Court
● Because Hongwu decreed that the throne should pass to the eldest son of
the empress, many Ming emperors were weak and easily controlled by
outside influences and an extensive eunuch bureaucracy
● Scholars were beat, exiled, or executed in attempts to reform the
emperors; revolts or protests were common
● Despite this treatment, Civil Service exams were still important for
educated men
○ Three degrees granted: shengyuan, a prefectural level degree, juren, a provincial
level degree, and jinshi, the capital level examination
○ Quotas were established to ensure all parts of the empire were represented in
the examinations
○ Students learned a set writing style, the “8 legged” style, classical written
Chinese, and studied the Confucian classics

19. Challenges to Confucian Orthodoxy
● Wang Yangming, successful bureaucrat, soldier, and leader
○ Interested in philosophy, believed that all people had knowledge universal principles and by
clearing away mental obstructions, could allow this knowledge to grow, people have an
innate knowledge of right and wrong
○ Confucius and Mencius are not sources of truth, but aids to understanding truth
○ Everyday activities could allow one to pursue sagehood
○ Urged his followers to follow basic moral truths
○ Emphasized the value of emotion
● His followers continued his spirit of questioning
○ Wang Gen: encouraged all to pursue education
○ He Xinyin: challenged the status of family, loyalty to family was inferior to loyalty to friends
○ Li Zhi: ridiculed conformity of behavior and encouraged one's feelings and passions, and
believed women were intellectual equals to men
● Most Confucian scholars were not amenable to such beliefs
● Neo-Confucianists reconciled Confucian objections to Buddhist pursuit of
individual salvation through the Great Learning

20. Ming Life
● Population doubled, small towns grew up and regions took
advantage of better trade by specializing in certain crops or
goods
● Villages, not officials, were responsible for taxation, at least
at the beginning
● Associations developed around temples and lineages,
leading to extensive rules governing members
● A distinctive urban culture began to develop
● Books were published in vernacular language to allow a
wider audience to enjoy them
○ Some major novels written in the period
■ Water Margin (Outlaws of the Marsh)
■ The Romance of the Three Kingdoms
■ Journey to the West (somewhat disputed)
■ Plum in the Golden Vase
● Dramas, operas, and poetry were also popular

21. Accomplishments of the Ming Dynasty
● Reinstated the Civil Service Exam, granting degrees known as Jinshi
● Established a nationwide school-system, with some private assistance
● Literacy increased, novels become an important part of Chinese life
● Renovated the Grand Canal and built the Great Wall we know today
○ The Mongols could not unite as they had in the Yuan Dynasty, but the wall was
built to prevent Mongol cavalry from entering
● Built the Forbidden City in Beijing
● Zheng He: Yongle Emperor’s eunuch who lead a series of seven naval
expeditions to Persia and Africa, trading Chinese goods, bringing back
exotic goods, and controlling piracy
○ After Zheng He’s death, the fleet was destroyed and the expeditions forbidden

22. Trade
● Portuguese, Dutch, and English began exploiting the sea
routes abandoned after Zheng He’s death
● Chinese traded silk and porcelain and received New World
crops and silver
● Piracy was common along the coast, and coastal cities were
raided by strong pirates, forcing people to move away from
the coasts
● The Portuguese were allowed to have a trading base on
Chinese soil by the 16th century

23. Decline of Ming
● Government defended Korea from a Japanese
invasion, bankrupting the government
● Taxes were raised, crops failed, and a great
epidemic lead to unrest
● Li Zicheng leads a peasant revolt in Hebei,
forcing the last Ming emperor to commit
suicide
● Another rebellion took place in Sichuan, and
both leaders declared themselves Emperor,
neither would control China

24. Koryo (Goryeo) Dynasty of
Korea

25. Koryo Government
● In 935, the last Silla king abdicated in favor of Wang Kon, who had declared the
Koryo Dynasty
○ Known as T’aejo, he was former merchant and military commander and moved the capital
to his hometown Kaegyong
○ Rather than centralizing government, he arranged alliances through marriage and kept
hostages from powerful families
○ He abolished the True Bone system, but did not alienate the old aristocracy and welcomed
the former capital’s Confucian elite
○ He patronized Buddhism and Confucianism, commissioning many temples in the new capital
● The third king continued these reforms
○ He investigate slave origins and freed those who were enslaved illegally
○ Also commissioned a new civil service exam that recruited new officials based on talent, though the exams
were not held frequently enough to improve social mobility
○ To appease the wealthy, he created a system of land allotment that gave land to men based on personal
rank, not office rank, and this land came in addition to their office salary, and could eventually be tax free if
this allotment, or prebend, was already granted. Similar grants were made to Buddhist monasteries, royalty,
and other elites

26. ● Koryo government was not as centralized as Tang
or Song China, with low tax collection and local
magistrates rather than aristocratic officials in
most districts
● Koryo politics eventually were dominated by
powerful clans and marred with succession
conflicts, but Confucian culture began to grow and
the examination system began to play a bigger role,
with schools cropping up to serve the aristocracy
● The prebend system eventually led to power and
wealth concentrated among the most powerful
clans, and the slavery grew among the lower classes

27. International Relations
● Because Song China did not dominate their northern rivals in the
way that Tang China did, Koryo Korea was beset with northern enemies
● Koryo was vassalized by the Khitan Liao in 1020 and then the Jurchen Jin later
○ T’aejo sided with China in a conflict with the Khitan Liao, and then insulted an envoy from them, leading to an invasion
and a treaty that transferred their vassalization, a later invasion over a succession dispute lead to the burning of Koryo
capital
○ A successful Jurchen Jin rebellion led to their vassalization, though not all Koreans agreed with this move
● The Mongols eventually invaded as well
○ A coup was carried out against the pleasure seeking King Uijong, weakening the Koryo through infighting for a decade,
until King Myongjong recalled a former leader under his father
○ Ch’oe Ch’unghon staged another coup, executing Myongjong’s high command and instituting reforms in the
government, his family ruled for around 60 years
○ After defeating the Khitan, the Khitan won a war against the Koryo and installed themselves in the north, and by 1257
the whole peninsula was in Mongol hands and the Mongols won a war with the Khitan
● Despite these setbacks, Koryo Korea traded with the Song dynasty, and had an extensive
appetite for Chinese products

28. Mongol
Domination
● Unlike the Song Dynasty in China, the Koryo Dynasty was allowed to survive and rule Korea
semi-independently, and were encouraged to marry into the Yuan Dynasty
● The two invasions of Japan by the Mongols were devastating to the Koryo, after many
resources were put to buildings ships, only for both fleets to be destroyed by typhoons
● The Koryo Royal Family began to emulate the Yuan Dynasty, and kings began to abdicate
early to retire to Beijing
● After the second invasion of Japan, Yuan rule became more authoritarian, deposing kings
that did not serve their interests, leading to rising anti-Mongol sentiment
● The relatively calm relationship between the Mongols and the Koryo lead to much cultural
exchange, and thousands of foreigners found homes in Korea during this period

29. Life in Koryo Korea
● Like previous dynasties, life in Koryo Korea was severely stratified
○ At the top was the new aristocracy, the yangban class, followed by commoners
including merchants and artisans
○ Unlike China and Japan, hereditary slavery existed in Koryo Korea, reaching 30% of society in the 11th
century
● While China and Japan only followed patrilineal lineage, Koryo Korea followed both
lines and mourned both grandparents equally
○ Husbands and wives moved into each other’s households interchangeably, and all siblings inherited
property, that all siblings held even in marriage
○ Divorce was allowed, and the mother retained her children in the event of one
● Among the elite, marriage partners were not limited to class or number
○ Some men had many wives and consorts and sealed alliances by marrying half-siblings and cousins together
○ The royal family did not limit succession to primogeniture, and women could rule as queens

30. Buddhism and Confucianism
● Buddhism remained strong in Korea throughout the Koryo Dynasty,
with many independent sects that appear only in Korea
● Confucian scholars focused on ethical governance, skill in literature
instead of study of the classics, self cultivation, or metaphysics
○ Tang poetry was popular
○ The introduction of the Learning of the Way, a hallmark of the Song
Dynasty,defined Late Koryo Confucianism
● Histories were written, including the History of the Three Kingdoms
in 1145 formatted like the Records of the Grand Historian
○ The author, Kim Pusik, portrayed Korea as one nation, rather than three
separate ones

31. End of Mongol Rule
and End of Koryo Korea
● In 1351, King Kongmin asserted Korean
independence from the waning Yuan Dynasty
○ He began reforms to return things back to the way they had been before the Mongols, but pirate attacks and
major invasions by rebel groups in China interrupted these efforts
● Confucian elites in the capital had become a strong force during the Yuan-controlled
period, and desired Korea to be a morally perfect Confucian society
○ They forced Kongmin to reform civil service, set up new schools, and increased the bureaucracy
● Kongmin also backed a Buddhist Monk to help with his reforms, to disastrous effect
○ Sin Ton, the monk and former slave, was given the power to investigate the legality of slaves during the
tumultuous period prior to Kongmin’s ascension, angering the wealthy and leading to his execution and
Kongmin’s eventual assassination

32. Heian Period of Japan
(794-1180)

33. The Beginning of the Heian Period
● Emperor Kammu moved the capital from Nara to Heian,
north of Nara and now called Kyoto
● The first 100 years or so were very similar in structure to
the Nara period, just in a new city
○ The move may have been prompted by the desire to leave
Buddhist or Fujiwara influences, or both
○ Rather than rely on the large bureaucracy, he chose a small group
of advisors to help him rule
○ Ended the forced military service and moved to a professional
military
○ Set tax quotas collected by inspectors and appointed governors to
four year terms
○ Commoners were left to their own affairs as long as they paid
taxes
● Wealthy could afford layers of silk clothing, elaborate
banquets, and focused on Chinese learning and mastering
Chinese classics

34. Heian Estate System
● As early as 743, the state declared that temples and aristocrats could develop and reclaim land and
hold such land forever, subject to taxation
● All other land belonged to the state
○ Officials and members of the court received salaries based on their rank in the form of land assignments and
the income generated on that land
■ These assignments were to be temporary, but as offices became hereditary, so did the assignments
■ Officials would then rent out that land to cultivators annually, and influential aristocrats and temples
could get this land tax-exempted by using their influence
○ 50-60% of land belonged to the state, even after years of estate building by aristocrats and confiscation by
the monarchs
● Tax-exempt estates developed into quasi-independent centers of power, rather than a unified
state bureaucracy
○ Many estates were run by local officials not related to the court, and would seek protection from the
strongest temples and families

35. Religious Reform
● Buddhist Monks Kukai and Saicho’s
visits to China further entrenched
Buddhism in Japanese life
○ Kukai (804-06), saw rites, symbols
and scriptures that led him to
challenge the dependence on
Confucianism for political ideology
and develop rituals based on the
cosmic Buddha
○ Saicho (804-05), fonder of the
Tendai school of Buddhism, focusing
on the Lotus Sutra
● Daughters and sisters of the
Emperor still served as priestesses of
Ise, despite fascination with
Buddhism

36. Heian Letters
● The Heian period was a golden age for the
Japanese aristocratic court
● Best seen through the works of court ladies Sei
Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu
○ Sei Shonagon: The Pillow Book
■ A collection of lists, reflections and anecdotes written during her service to Empress Teishi in the late
10th century
■ Reflects what aristocrats valued and their interests
○ Murasaki Shikibu
■ Probably not her real name, derived from the main female character of her famous work The Tale of
Genji
● Accepted by many as the world’s first novel
● Focuses on Genji, a young prince through the Emperor’s concubine, turned commoner
● Tells the story of his career, but it is the novel’s descriptions of the life at court that make the
novel so important

37. Taira no Masakado’s Rebellion (935-40)
● The Taira line was a line of descendants of
Emperor Kanmu who left for distant
provinces as the Fujiwara clan controlled
most of the bureaucracy in the capital
● Masakado refused to work for his uncle
after marrying his uncle’s daughter,
challenging his uncle’s place in the lineage
and his place as vice-governor of the
province
● He became a hero for commoners because
he challenged the governor

38. Fujiwara Era (900-1050)
● “Golden Age” of court culture despite a sluggish economy
● The aristocracy was large, and the best ranks were controlled by a small group of families
fulfilling ceremonial roles, while the lower tiers fulfilled the everyday
roles of governing
● Men and women often lived separately, men maintaining homes for
himself and his wife (or wives), or his wife lived with her parents, while
the husband came to serve his father-in-law
● The Fujiwara continued to provide the Emperors with wives, using their
influence to promote their women’s sons as crown prince and
encouraging the sitting Emperor to abdicate in favor of the child

39. Fujiwara and Buddhism
● Amida or Pure Land Buddhism
○ In the late Heian period, Amitabha Buddhism becomes very
popular in response to the “degenerate” times that people lived in
○ In the Pure Land sect, Amida Buddha vowed to bring any who
believe in him to his Pure Land of Western Paradise.
○ Invoking the name of Amida would allow rebirth, even women
(who were reborn into Paradise as men)
○ Many Amida halls were built at this time by wealthy patrons

40. End of the Heian Period
● Rule by Retired Emperors led to infighting among the monarchs,
the Fujiwara, and the rest of the nobility for power over the ruling
Emperor
○ Inefficient government: bureaucracy was used to promote supporters and
their children, tax collection and policing were entrusted to distantly
related clans: the Taira and the Minamoto clans
■ Rebellions or “lawlessness” occurred often
● A 1031 revolt left an entire Taira-governed province
with less than 1% of arable land
● Three revolts between 1051 and 1135 led to two wars
and much piracy
○ Abe family uprising in 1051, Kiyowara family
uprising in 1083-both put down by the
Minamoto clan (both are Emishi, or Ainu, peoples)
○ Piracy was fought by the Taira clan

41. Samurai Class
● As the nobility turned to the Taira
and Minamoto clans for policing
and tax collection, a new class
develops
○ As their estates grew, they became independent of imperial
administration and gave rise to a local hereditary military class
■ Lead Clan leaders who became known as samurai (“one
who serves” nobility)
■ Small groups fought on horseback with bows and arrows
to win battles, not some honor; formal tactics weren’t the
norm
○ 1156: Hogen Incident
■ Different Fujiwara sons wanting to be emperor pitted some Minamoto warriors and all the Taira against each other
■ Taira backed Go-Shirakawa who got thone; Taira no Kiyomori received 4th rank at court starting the Taira’s rise to power
○ 1160: Heiji Rebellion
■ Minamoto / Taira clans supporting different emperors;
■ Taira wins again and executes many Minamoto
■ Clan leader Kiyomori promoted to 1st rank and to prime minister in 1167.

42. Genpei War
● Immortalized in the Tales of the Heike
● Minamoto forces urged on by the cloistered emperor try to oust the Taira from power
● Minamoto Yoritomo promises his supporters lands confiscated from the Taira & courtiers and a higher rank.
● After years of protracted warfare and intrigue (1180-85), Minamoto forces win.
● Samurai gradually take over power from aristocrats; culture of Japan changes.
● By 1184, a military government has established itself in Kamakura, marking the end of the Heian period and the first
Shogunate

43. Kamakura Period (1180-1333)

44. Establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate
● Rise of the Samurai class-three interpretations
○ The court and the monarchy, reneged its responsibility to keep the peace and hired a conscript army
■ Then allowed provincial governors to hire deputies and armies to defend themselves, leading
to the Samurai class
○ The Monarchy was successful in manipulating the warrior class
■ A large army was expensive, a group of professionals was smaller and cheaper
● This group could even be descendants of fighters from the Yayoi period
○ The warrior class and the aristocracy are very different
■ Warriors: originate as hunters in Eastern Japan, aggressive diplomacy, emphasis on martial
prowess
■ Kyoto Aristocracy: originate as cultivators from Western Japan, sought karmic merit (when
Buddhism is introduced), literate
● Saw the Westerners as rustic, little better than the emishi (Ainu)

45. ● Samurau- “to serve,” the first samurai were
6th rank officials, similar to scribes,
scholars and artisans
○ Fought with bows and arrows on horseback, rather than
with swords, engaging in sneak attacks and broken
promises if it meant their success
○ Honor in winning, fought for personal glory and
advancement-did not fight if a commander was not
present

46. Genpei War-End of the Heian Period
● Immortalized in the Tales of the Heike
● Minamoto forces urged on by the cloistered
emperor try to oust the Taira from power
○ Taira Kiyomori-head of the Taira clan, the grandfather of
and prime minister to the infant Emperor
● Minamoto Yoritomo promises his supporters lands confiscated from the Taira &
courtiers and a higher rank.
○ These oaths mark the beginning of the samurai as their own class
○ Those officials and temples that did not side with the Taira were not punished
● Years of poor harvests during the war increased Minamoto power
○ Yoritomo promised good harvests in Eastern Japan, and his control over the East was confirmed, allowing
him to eventual control all of Japan, as a deputy to the Emperor

47. ● Yoritomo strips the right to raise armies from the Emperor as “emergency
protector,” giving him control over the whole military class
○ Appointed military governors (shugo) to oversee policing of territories and maintenance of armies.
● After years of protracted warfare and intrigue (1180-85), Minamoto forces win
○ Yoshitune defeated the Taira forces at the sea battle of Dannoura
○ After the war, Yoritomo began to replace Taira supporters with jito, estate stewards that ensured Kyoto (the
court) was paid but were guaranteed by Kamakura (Yoritomo), ensuring their loyalty belonged to him.
○ Defeat of an upstart Fujiwara family in northern Honshu gave him more supporters
● After the wars, the tales of the battle were retold to pacify the spirits of the fallen warriors
○ Eventually becoming what we know call the Tale of the Heike

48. Post Genpei War
● Family Politics played a major role
○ Yoritomo killed many family members in order
to solidify himself as the head of the Minamoto family
○ After his death, his wife Masako promoted her family’s,
the Hojo family, interests, establishing themselves
as the Shogun for many years
● Women in Military Households held a lot of power
○ Marriage was a private affair, not registered or limited to class
○ Women could and did inherit property, and the property they inherited did not pass to their husbands in
marriage
○ Childless marriages led to adoption rather than passing property on to siblings
○ After death, the wife arranged for her husband’s successors, not his siblings

49. Dual Rule-Monarchy
and Kamakura Shogunate
● Retired Emperor Go-Toba misjudged the support for the Shogun Hojo and tried
to overthrow the Shogunate, leading to Go-Toba’s exile and the loss of many
supporters in Western Japan
● Hojo created new estate stewards for those lands, however these stewards did
not have final authority over the land, authority that rested with the monarchy
○ The first shoguns did not exercise a fully-fledged government, many disputes of authority and land occurred
○ In this confusion, Yasutoki, nephew of Yoritomo’s wife Masako, created a new code of judicial procedures to
help guide fair legal decisions made by estate stewards, officials, and councilors
■ This code ensure legal rights for women, the monarchy, and stewards, while holding these stewards to
high standards of conduct

50. Life in Kamakura Japan
● Improved techniques in agriculture and
in iron working improved harvests
● Some classes had freedom of movement and organization
○ Myoshu, cultivators who held a permanent title to their land, could become quite wealthy, and often
rented marginal land to serfs(called shoju).
○ Artisans, entertainers, traders, prostitutes, hunters, fishers, pirates and proselytizers moved where
they were needed, following resources, herds, and growing city populations as they pleased
○ Fishers, hunters, entertainers and prostitutes received licenses to ply their trades and move around
the country and could organize into groups
● The category of outcasts that would eventually be known as burakumin begins to develop, though
at this point it is not the hereditary class that it would be later in Japan.

51. Buddhism in Kamakura
Japan
● Religious life during the period
was dominated by the six main Nara
sects along with the major Tendai
and Shingon sects
● Buddhism was one of the three major power blocs in Kamakura Japan
● One major sect that developed during the period is the Jodo shinshu, or “True
Pure Land” sect
○ This sect believes in the saving power of Amida Buddha, and calling on this name allows a believer to
gain entrance into the Western Paradise.
○ This belief spread rapidly due to its accessibility: low-ranking and uneducated classes could earn
salvation without intense study, women were allowed into the Western Paradise, monks did not
need to cut themselves off from the world or remain celibate

52. ● Another development in Japanese Buddhism
is the introduction of Zen or Chan Buddhism
○ The core belief in Zen is that the essence of Buddha is in everyone, and can be accessed by peeling
back layers of desire to achieve an inner awakening
○ Meditation is the tool to achieve this awakening
■ Zen uses such ideas as koan, riddles to help concentrate the mind during meditation
○ Chanting sutras and reciting the Buddha’s name are secondary in this school
● One additional school that develops in the Nichiren School
○ This school focuses on the Lotus Sutra, and believed that this sutra contained the summation of
Buddhist teaching
○ Chanting the sutra could help one achieve buddhahood or at least gain access to the Pure Land
○ Salvation came through faith in the power of this sutra

53. Mongol Invasions
● In 1271, the Mongols conquered Korea,
and three years later they sailed
across the East Sea to attack the Japanese island of Kyushu.
○ This invasion was repelled due to military parity and numerical superiority
○ After this invasion, the south was fortified even more to prevent a second invasion
● In 1281 a second force was sent, one much larger and stronger
○ Sound strategy kept the Mongols from gaining much headway
○ An epidemic weakened the Mongol armies
○ A typhoon forced the attackers to withdraw to their ships to wait out the storm, in the storm many
sank and many Mongols died and the Japanese took care of the rest
■ This led to the belief that Japan was a divinely-protected nation, and that a divine wind
(called kamikaze) protected them from the foreign invasion

54. The End of the Kamakura Period
● The Mongol invasions were
expensive
○ Food production went down,
rewards were promised that were
not kept, and temples were
pressured for money by the state
● New governors were appointed in lands historically controlled by Kyushu samurai, not by the Hojo
family, and these samurai only regain their incomes, not the rights to their land
○ The only reward for many was debt amnesty, not enough recompense in the eyes of many warriors

55. ● The Hojo family had grown corrupt and despotic
○ Exiled opponents and seized land, abolished the councillors
○ Tried to regain some allies by restoring lands that had been sold by impoverished samurai families to those
families, angering both the samurai who could not sell this land and the previous owners, some of who had
been in possession of the land for generations
○ Some samurai families could no longer support the need for a warrior due to lack of income
● When the Shogunate decided not to intervene in disputes between their supporters and the
aristocracy, they could not control the violence that followed